1 World Trade Center: New York’s tallest

May 1, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Construction on 1 World Trade Center, also called the Freedom Tower, began in April 2006. It won't be the only new building on the World Trade Center site. 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story structure, opened May 23, 2006. Also in the works are 2, 3 and 4 World Trade Center. Completion of the complex is planned for 2015. PHOTO BY SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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These steel columns atop the 100th story of 1 World Trade Center were put in place Monday via crane. They make the tower the tallest structure in New York. One of the highlights of the rebuilt World Trade Center is the memorial to the victims of two trade center attacks: Feb. 26, 1993, when six people, including a pregnant woman, were killed, and Sept. 11, 2001. PHOTO BY LUCAS JACKSON, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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Here's a look at the 9/11 memorial from the 90th story of 1 World Trade Center. The two pools sit in the footprints of the twin towers and include the largest manmade waterfalls in the U.S. PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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Here's another look from way up in the air. This one, looking over Manhattan, was taken from the top of 1 World Trade Center on Monday. PHOTO BY MARK LENNIHAN, GETTY IMAGES

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This photo lacks other buildings with which to compare the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. But notice how distorted the sides are; to get the photo in even a fisheye lens shot, this was necessary. Work on the Burj began in 2003 and was finished in 2009. PHOTO BY CHRIS JACKSON, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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The Burj is 2,625 feet tall with more than 160 floors. The observation deck is on the 124th floor (and you thought the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building was impressive!). And, yes, you can buy tickets online. The price? 100 United Emirates dirhams. But that's only $27. Not too bad. PHOTO BY ROBERT CIANFLONE, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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The Taipei 101 tower was the world's tallest building until the Burj Khalifa was built in Dubai. This one is nearly 1,700 feet and 101 stories tall. PHOTO BY MARC GERRITSEN, GETTY IMAGES

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Here's the Shanghai World Financial Center, at right, more than 1,600 feet tall. The structure's most unusual feature is the hole at the top. The building took 11 years to build and opened in 2008. It's the tallest building in China. PHOTO BY FENG LI, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were the tallest structures in the world when construction finished in 1998. Before that, the Sears Tower in Chicago had been the world's tallest structure. The towers played a key role in the 1999 film "Entrapment," with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. PHOTO BY CHRIS HONDROS, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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The towers are so named because they house the headquarters of Petronas, Malaysia's national petroleum company. The towers are identical, connected with a sky bridge not quite halfway up. They have 88 stories and are 1,483 feet tall. And they dwarf the rest of the city. PHOTO BY CHRIS HONDROS, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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The Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) was once the tallest building in the world. But Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers changed that. The building, which became known as Willis Tower on July 16, 2009, stands 1,450 feet. PHOTO BY SCOTT OLSON, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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Not to be outdone by Sears, Willis, Petrona or anyone else, Donald Trump decided his Trump International Hotel and Tower would be the world's tallest building. But after 9/11, plans were scaled back. Today, at 1,361 feet, the structure is the second-tallest in the Windy City. PHOTO BY SCOTT OLSON, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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When finished, 1 World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the United States, returning that status to the World Trade Center. Before 9/11, the twin towers were the tallest buildings in the U.S. and always captivated us when we flew into New York to visit. We remember when they were officially opened, in 1973, and became the tallest structures in New York and the country. They brought a bit of confidence to a city sorely lacking it at the time. "Built at a time when New York's future seemed uncertain, the towers restored confidence and helped bring a halt to the decline of lower Manhattan. Brash, glitzy, and grand, they quickly became symbols of New York," David Johnson and Shmuel Ross write in "World Trade Center History."PHOTO BY MARIO TAMA, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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The Empire State Building still holds court over much of Manhattan. Here's a view of the one-time tallest building in the world from near the top of 1 World Trade Center. The Empire State sprang to life March 17, 1930. Its famous lights were turned on for the first time by President Herbert Hoover, who pressed a button in Washington, D.C., that lighted the building. Did you know the Empire State Building has its own ZIP code? It's 10118. PHOTO BY SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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You might remember our remark of a few slides back about thinking the 102nd floor of the Empire State Building was impressive. Well, it is. We've been to both observation decks (the other is on the 86th floor), and we think the view is breathtaking. And why not? We can practically see where we grew up in western New Jersey. Or we think we can. The building is famous for its lights. You can find a schedule of the colors on its official website. PHOTO BY JOHN MOORE, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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The Empire State Building is such an icon of New York, which is an icon itself, that famous folk are always photographed there. Because we just saw him at the America's Family Pet Expo about a week ago, and because we'll take any opportunity to showcase a dog, here's Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier who starred in "The Artist" and "Water for Elephants," and his trainer, Omar von Muller, in January. PHOTO BY ANDY KROPA, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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There are more tall buildings in the world, and we're pretty sure the race for the tallest will move back and forth among nations over the years. But we thought we'd end close to home. Here's the tallest building in Los Angeles, which is also the tallest building between Chicago (home of the Willis Tower) and Kuala Lumpur (the Petrona Towers): It's the U.S. Bank Tower, originallly called the Library Tower. In the foreground is the Los Angeles Central Library, after which the tower was originally named. PHOTO BY KIM D. JOHNSON, AP;, TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

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Orange County's tallest structure isn't a building. It's the Supreme Scream at Knott's Berry Farm, in Buena Park. Kind of fitting for a county that's home to both Knott's and Disneyland. We rode this ride once. We have a bit of fear of heights, and we're sure of one thing: That agonizingly slow ascent, during which we really did see our home, scared us half to death and made us decide that keeping our feet on the ground isn't necessarily a bad thing. FILE PHOTO: THE REGISTER; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

Construction on 1 World Trade Center, also called the Freedom Tower, began in April 2006. It won't be the only new building on the World Trade Center site. 7 World Trade Center, a 52-story structure, opened May 23, 2006. Also in the works are 2, 3 and 4 World Trade Center. Completion of the complex is planned for 2015.PHOTO BY SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES; TEXT BY MARYANNE DELL, FOR THE REGISTER

No, the iconic Empire State Building isn't gone, except from the record books.

It's no longer the tallest building in New York City.

As of Monday, and thanks to a couple of steel bars, the structure that will replace the twin towers holds the distinction of being the highest structure in the five boroughs of New York City. Eventually, it will be the tallest building in the U.S.

But in the world? No way.

Although 1 World Trade Center will rank right up there, topping off at a patriotic 1,776 feet (yes, that's on purpose), it's pretty much dwarfed by the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which reaches 2,717 feet.

Let's take a look at some of the champion buildings – as far as height goes – in the world. Click through the photos to see.

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